Foreshadow
by XxHot92xX
Summary: The first time Kakashi saw him, it was at the dead of night in a deserted pub.  Normalcy can be pretty scary.


**Title:** Foreshadow  
**Description:** The first time Kakashi saw him, it was at the dead of night in a deserted pub. Normalcy can be pretty scary.  
**Pairings:** None intended.  
**Rating:** K+  
**Warnings:** None.  
**Disclaimer:** If I owned Naruto (which I don't, sadly), the Kakashi gaiden would've been aired instead of hideous fillers, KakaSaku innuendos would be overwhelming, and Hayate would be resurrected to frolic with Genma. And perhaps Raidou as well...

-o-o-

_I had that dream again _

_Where I was lost for good in outer space_

-o-o-

The first time Kakashi saw him, it was at the dead of night in a deserted pub. It wasn't often that a pub was deserted, especially just after an S-class mission that required a minimum of five assassinations. But alas, the brewery was desolate, only harboring a few misplaced soldiers of Konoha here and there; some slumped across bars, others slouching in chairs nursing a lukewarm drink and staring miles away. Kakashi didn't mind the lonely ambience, and was actually contented with the fact that he didn't have to share his regrets and twisted hindsight with more than a few straggling drunks that were probably just as lost as he was.

Kakashi gingerly sat upon one of the bar's stools, knowing he was testing his off-kilter balance to the brink with how nothing was supporting his back. The bartender didn't mind his blood-soaked uniform nor the slightly 'not-there' glaze to his eyes and merely slid a tall glass of sake his way. Kakashi _knew_ he liked this pub for a reason. No questions asked.

The night continued to wear on and day was not too far behind. Kakashi fingered his sake, letting his thumb rub off its cool condensation; pretending his hands weren't shaking just slightly, how numb his digits really were.

In all honesty, Kakashi never spotted him until he spontaneously happened to look in the direction of where the fellow ANBU was sitting. He'd never been assigned to a squad with him for any mission and hardly knew of him despite his prestigious surname. Kakashi was only certain that the ANBU was younger than himself. The shadowed eyes didn't fool the silver-haired captain as the ninja two bar stools down still held the smooth facial contours of boyhood with the beginning signs of a strong jaw eminent. Kakashi shouldn't talk though. He wasn't much older. Barely seventeen. But here he was, cradling a drink as if it were a lifeline. And there was him, staring into the wooden bar's cracked surface as if it told a story.

Kakashi never spoke to the boy, never nodded in greeting, and neither did he. And yet, each knew the other. Kakashi continued to idly sip at his sake with blurred moves to the naked eye, never letting a patron view his own young features. Despite his nonchalance toward him, Kakashi couldn't help but feel his spine tingle whenever he happened to glance the boy's way. There wasn't any foul intent diffusing from the young ANBU and there were no tell-tale signs of distress. But Kakashi _knew._

This boy, this _child_, was alone in a pub. His hands weren't shaking, he wasn't slumped over the bar and wasn't staring off into some distant world. He was _there_. Just there. And in some odd and eccentric way, that scared Kakashi more than anything. The ANBU didn't shiver from imaginary cold, didn't wince from stained memories of what he'd _done_ while behind that porcelain mask.

He only sat and stared at the grains of wood.

He was.. normal.

Kakashi left the pub that night with no great urgency, no sudden epiphany that something dire was going to unfold around that boy. He merely stalked off into the dawn with his hollow bones and shivering hands. But as he walked on, in the back of his mind, Kakashi still _knew_. And Kakashi was a genius.

Sighing, the lone ANBU stood loyally beside the memorial, silently greeting his sensei and teammates. Even as he tried to spin tales for Obito, assure Rin he wasn't hurt and repeat, once more, for Minato, that he wasn't about to go ape-shit, Kakashi _knew._

There was no such thing as a _normal_ ANBU.

-o-o-

_A/N:_ I think the boy depicted in this oneshot is pretty obvious. But.. for those who don't know.. cough-ITACHI-cough. Seems I'm getting a cold.

Just a dribble-drabble with lyrics from Jack's Mannequin's _Kill the Messenger_. This piece was just a what-if scenario where Kakashi happens to see Itachi in a pub. Kakashi's last line of thought is, in a way, very foreboding in how it's stating that no ANBU are normal because after all the killings, murders, bloodshed, pain, etc. who could be? So, something's off about this supposedly normal boy. Just a little explanation for those who didn't 'get it'.

Written in 36 minutes (before editing and stuff) in HOLY-CRAP-ESCAPING-BRAIN mode. New record.

Review if you enjoyed because I'd love to know (it saddens me when there are 20 plus favorites and only 3 reviews)! Goodnight!

_- - H. 92_


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